Browsing by Subject "Depersonalisaatio"

Depersonalization/derealization-symptoms are a subclass of dissociation symptoms. These symptoms are characterized by numbness of emotions, a feeling of being separated from one’s body, and a feeling of unreality of the outside world. The source of these symptoms is unclear at the moment. However, studies have shown that depersonalization/derealization symptoms can be caused by traumatic stress experiences. This raises the question of how depersonalization/derealization symptoms could be connected to daily, minor stress. Could daily stress also be an influencing factor on depersonalization/derealization symptoms? On the other hand, it could be that depersonalization/depersonalization experiences would cause a person to be more vulnerable to experiencing stress. In this review I take a closer look at the relationship between daily stress and depersonalization/derealization symptoms. It seems that a positive connection exists between depersonalization/derealization symptoms and daily stress. However, the direction of the connection remains unclear. There is some evidence depersonalization/derealization symptoms and daily stress often appear simultaneously. In addition, it seems that people who experience high amounts of depersonalization/derealization symptoms experience stress more intensely than the average person. Daily stress has also been shown to be a predictor of depersonalization/derealization symptoms when the effect of other psychopathology symptoms has been taken into account. The amount of other psychopathology seems to be an important moderator of the connection. All in all, the relationship between daily stress and depersonalization/derealization symptoms seems to be very complicated and more research is needed on this area.